Hinduism is not based on a strict set of rules, it is not based on a single holy book. Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. It is indias major religion, but unlike many other religions in the world, hinduism has no founder. Hindus customarily invoke shiva before the beginning of any religious or spiritual endeavor.
The chariot part alone is a massively important holy book called the. Hinduism is the product of 6000 years of contradicting and coalescing religious ideas, in which time is cyclical, the worlds an illusion, and more or less everyone is an incarnation, reincarnation, preincarnation, aspect, or avatar of someone else. The mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world, the most wellknown portion of which is the bhagavadgita, which is perhaps the bestknown and widely cited book in all of hinduism. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Besides them, lord ganesha, lord krishna, lord hanuman, lord rama, and goddess parvati are the most popular deities in hinduism. Along similar lines, the later indian religious and secular texts. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and many practitioners refer to hinduism as the eternal law. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, panentheistic, pandeistic, henotheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. Where you grew up in india also played a large role in how you or your family approached the religion. Otherwise you will have difficulty in understanding hindu. More strikingly than any other major religious community, hindus acceptand indeed celebratethe organic, multileveled, and sometimes pluralistic nature of their traditions.
The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. Instead there is a great diversity of belief and practice. The temples are dedicated to different gods and are the focus of religious life. Another hindu holy book that deals with religious duties is law of manu or the dharma shastra. The om symbol is often found at family shrines and in hindu temples. More than a billion people are followers of indias eternal faith. Hindu customs and traditions, culture, indiahinduism facts. It is estimated that hinduism appeared around 2000 bc with the arrival of the indoeuropean, or aryan, peoples in northern india. Egyptian god family tree trying to keep up with the lineage of most gods and goddesses in ancient mythologies is quiet a task. Evidence of hinduisms early antecedents is derived from archaeology, comparative philology, and comparative religion.
Vishnu and shiva both have whole branches of hinduism dedicated to them, but brahmas sort of fallen out of favor. The veda is a rather unusual collection of literature. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, atheism, agnosticism, gnosticism among others. It signifies pure and total knowledge as well as intellect that acquired to promote prosperity of mankind. It is a religion that has slowly developed over a period of time. It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles about different aspects of islam. In india, the majority of temples seen throughout the countryside are vaishnava centers, and vaishnava holy men, both monks and individual renunciates. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. Egyptian god family tree egyptian deities, in various forms and varying degrees of popularity, reigned in egypt for over years. Within hinduism there are 330 million gods that one can worship and live a life of total devotion towards corduan, 2012. Thus, sankaras philosophy mixed with the popular temple worship of shiva and the associated deities in what is termed the smarta tradition. But why is it that people dont really have a good answer when asked, what is hinduism.
All hindus know that some books are considered holy by everyone, and not every book written by every author becomes holy. Hinduism is notable for its emphasis on home worship. The hindu deity concept varies from a personal god as in yoga school of hindu philosophy, to 33 vedic deities, to hundreds of puranics of hinduism. The hindus have four gods brahman, brahma, vishnu, and shiva. Do hindus use one holy book, or many, and whats in them.
There is something called pramana, authority, which our acharyas have recognised, and as per the acharyas a set of books are considered primary texts, whereas, other books based on these primary books can also be referred to. Hinduism is so unlike any other religion that it is difficult to define with any precision. Given below is a list of the chief hindu deities followed by a list of hindu deities including demigods. Let us take a gander at 15 major ancient hindu gods and goddesses you. Hinduism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. Most forms of hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as brahman, but still recognize other gods and goddesses. You should read enough of the materials presented in this section concerning the tradition of hinduism in order to understand how this tradition displays the characteristics or elements that make a. You need to read a low level introductory book that nevertheless gives a decent overview of hinduism.
The shrine will contain images of the familys chosen deity, either as a framed. Hindu beliefs hindu gods the hindus have four gods brahman, brahma. The most important deities in hinduism learn religions. The hindu building for communal worship is called mandir hindu temple. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world.
Hinduism is not based so much on one holy book or perception of faith, but many. It is believed that hinduism originated in northern india, and in india today, more than 80% of the population are followers. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. In ancient and medieval era texts of hinduism, the human body is described as a temple, and. By holding vedas in her hand, it suggests that saraswati holds all knowledge in her hands. Hinduism is a religion with various gods and goddesses. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help. The earliest literary source for the history of hinduism is the rigveda, consisting of hymns that were composed chiefly during the last two or three centuries of. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. This expansiveness is made possible by the widely shared hindu view that truth or reality cannot be encapsulated in any creedal formulation, a perspective expressed in. The hindu god family tree in 2020 greek gods, hindu. Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in hinduism.
These differences are what make hinduism different from other world religions such as judaism or christianity. Rama was born in a royal family and was suppose to be the king, but because of. Hinduism factshinduism facts revealing facts about hindu. Still, hinduism differs from polytheism in that fact hinduism comes in many forms, and each form recognizes a different deity. Hinduism is the dominant and nativeoriginal religion of the indian subcontinent. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. Islam,buddhism,hinduism, and judaism flashcards quizlet. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, as indicated by numerous researchers, with roots and traditions going back over 4,000 years. Brahman takes on many forms that some hindus worship as gods or goddesses in their own.
The book contains 270 pages and is divided in 57 small easytoread chapters, containing authentic information about all the important aspects of hindu religion, culture, and philosophy. What would be the best books to read, if i want to learn. The vedas a collection of hymns praising the vedic gods. They also help to preserve the religious dimensions of family and society. Unlike other major religions, hinduism has no founder. The history of hinduism in india can be traced to about 1500 bce. With approximately one billion followers, its also the worlds third largest religion. Illustrations of major deities include vishnu, sri lakshmi, shiva, parvati durga, brahma and saraswati. Given below is a list of the chief hindu deities followed by a list of hindu deities including demi gods. Customs and traditions have always been an important part of every religion and culture.
According to ancient texts, the hindu universe is infinite, timeless, and endless but our world isnt. Classified by primary deity or deities, four major hinduism modern currents are vaishnavism vishnu, shaivism shiva, shaktism devi and smartism five deities treated as same. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. A murti is a sacred stautue of god, or a god or goddess. Lord brahma, lord vishnu, and lord shiva are the creator, protector, and destroyer respectively. Here are some facts about hinduism, the main religion of the indian subcontinent, and one of the most popular religions worldwide. It is believed that hinduism dates back to 500010,000 bc. Smartism, an older tradition and later reestablished by jagadguru adi shankaracharya, invites the worship of more than one god including shiva like that, vishnu, brahma, shakti and ganesha the elephant god among other gods and goddesses. For many hindus, religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs. Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book. Others, particularly the more wealthy, will dedicate a whole room to worship and meditation. Religion is a way of life in india, where hinduism is practiced by over eighty percent of the population. You will have to read a lot to understand hinduism.
For children, hinduism from a to z, is an illustrated alphabet designed as twentysix minilessons on hindu thought and culture. The aryans gave hinduism its priestly language, sanskrit. Hinduism is the largest and oldest religion on earth almost 5,000 years old. It should be noted that hinduism has not always expressed itself in its present form and has evolved considerably. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and percolated through the word of mouth hence the name vedas spoken from the. Foremost among the many hindu gods and goddesses are the holy triad of brahma, vishnu, and shiva, the creator, sustainer, and destroyer. The nature of hinduism, hindu metaphysics, how hindus worship, spiritual practices, family life and culture, and hindu ethics. Some customs are so important for the people that sometimes, they sacrifice their lives for them. As hinduism is the oldest religion on the earth, there are a lot of hindu customs and traditions observed in india. It is also called sanatana dharma or eternal religion because it is based on the eternal truths. Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. The major differences between hinduism and other major religions are the lack of a single holy book, and a single concept of a god or deity. The most popular one of the lesser gods are brahma the creator, vishnu the preserver, and shiva the destroyer hinduism has no founder.
Check out our resources for adapting to these times. The book in the rear left hand is vedas, which is the earliest sacred book in hinduism. A rare inside look at the worlds most venerable and vibrant religion, revealed in fortysix illustrated journeys into an intriguing realm of temples, deities, yoga, philosophy, gurus, tolerance and family life. Hinduism does not have a single holy book, but many ancient texts and scriptures. A brief overview of hinduism in a series of articles discussing it from a comparative religions perspective. Of these 330 million gods though, there are three primary gods which make up a holy trinity called trimurti morgan, 2012. Of the historical division into six darsanas philosophies, two schools, vedanta and yoga, are currently the most prominent. Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, as well as the worlds oldest religion. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. The holy book for hindus is vedas which was not written by a single person, but it is a compilation of the revelation of seers.
List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. A sort of plausible family tree of some of the hindu gods, demigods, and. Hinduism is the primary religion of india, and is the worlds oldest extant religion created about 1500 to 500 bce. For some this will be a few pictures on a shelf in the living room or kitchen. Were all manifestations of brahmas meditation, and when brahma finishes meditating for the day. The terms and epithets found in indian culture, that are translated as deity, varies with the.
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